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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

GZ Legends 68: Charon's Fate

Souls of
the condemned wrapped their ghostly arms around Nyhtwulf, dragging him deeper
and deeper toward the bottom of the River Styx. As they dragged him down and
down, the rage of the shadowy hero mounted. He bared his fangs, tensed his
muscles and strained against the overwhelming forces of the river. No one
caught in the river’s grasp had ever surfaced again.

Charon
glared down at the swirling waters with pleasure and pride. Finally, after all
these years, he found the revenge he desired. There hadn’t been a waking moment
in all the time Nyhtwulf ever served the Four Horsemen that Charon hadn’t
wanted to destroy the Twilie Demon. Finally, he could gloat with abandon. Every
time he would cross the Styx, he would cross over Nyhtwulf’s imprisoned soul.
Nothing could make Charon happier at that moment.

The smoking
hole through his middle chest region was a confusing surprise to the Ferryman.
With the inability to actually feel anything, he didn’t notice it right away.
Worse yet, such a thing was supposed to be impossible. Charon long stood the
eons as an indestructible force on the river. Nothing had ever been able to
harm him before. Slowly, he turned to the source of the blast that tore through
his back.

Blacktide
stood, seething with rage. His clenched fists smoked with a new power and the
chains were in pieces at his feet. Charon reacted without any further
hesitation. He swung out with his pole
and hit Blacktide across the forehead, breaking a hole in the man’s sunglasses.
Blacktide’s head turned with the blow and slowly he turned his head back,
glaring at Charon. As the Ferryman took another swing, Blacktide ducked under
it and came up with another disintegration blast that tore apart Charon’s left
arm.

Charon
responded with a roar that sent a wide ball of flames toward Blacktide.
Charon’s glaring eyes, shot flames out 8 feet in either direction. Blacktide
rolled across the deck of the boat and came up with a wave of distortional
power and ripped at the boatman from all angles.

“Your bones
will decorate my boat!” Charon howled.

“I said I
wanted to kick your head and I’m going to!” Blacktide shouted back.

At the
bottom of the river, another surging battle raged. The lost souls gripped
Nyhtwulf and gathered on him like moths to a flame. Nyhtwulf tensed and reached
deep within himself to the heart of his own supernatural might. As he thrust
his wings out, forcing the souls away from him, jets of water flew at the
surface. The boat shook, momentarily jarring the footing of both on board as
Nyhtwulf’s body exploded from the River and into the air. Nyhtwulf roared in a
mixture of triumph and rage.

“NO!”
Charon’s embattled form turned in shock, just in time for Blacktide to unleash
a new attack. This burst of power erased parts of the boat’s railing and left
the deck smoking. In the midst of the smoky cloud, Charon’s long pole fell away
into the water with a splash. A hollow thud could be heard as Charon’s
disembodied skull hit the deck and bounced. It spun, almost in slow motion. As
it spun the glowing sockets seemed to show Charon’s absolute disbelief. The
skull bounced twice more on the wooden deck before being grasped by human
fingers from a shredded glove.

Blacktide
brought the skull of Charon up to head level so he could look directly into its
blazing eyes. At the same time, the human hero put his broken sunglasses back
on, one eye still viewable through the cracks. Nyhtwulf landed, glad to see his
partner alive.

“What will
you do?” Nyhtwulf asked.

“Pathetic
human! You will pay for this!” Charon shouted.

Blacktide
glared at the skull and slowly shook his head. “Nah. I don’t think so. But I
promised you this.”

With a step
in preparation, Blacktide’s boot met with Charon’s skull like a professional
football kicker. Charon screamed as his head sped across the river toward the
palace of the Four Horsemen. As it flew, the air around it swirled in new
shadows and a great skeletal hand wrapped around the flying skull, stopping its
flight. Hovering over the river was Death himself. As the entity floated
towards them, Blacktide felt a catch in his throat. He had no idea what to
expect. Nyhtwulf dropped to his knees.

Without a
word to either of them, Death gestured with his open hand and the body of
Charon reassembled on the boat. The long pole returned the Ferryman’s hands.
Only the head remained unattached.

“Rise,
former servant.” Death commanded before turning attention to Blacktide. “For
the transgressions against you, Larry ‘Blacktide’ Peters, your power has been
altered. Use it wisely. Now you both follow me to witness the true punishment
of Charon.” An unseen power pulled the boat to the opposite shore. Neither of
the two offered any objection as they followed Death onto the dark beach of the
dead.

Together,
they walked to the great front doors of the palace where Death stopped.
Blacktide could only watch in awe. He had no idea just what had happened to his
powers, but they did feel different than before. He realized he destroyed the
magical chains that held him. Was that what Death meant? He had little time to
think on it.

Death
reached out to the great front doors with Charon’s skull and fixed it fast to
the right side door. A great metal ring appeared in the skull’s mouth before
Death spoke again.

“You
thought no worse punishment could ever be devised for you, reckless and foolish
Ferryman. Now, not only will your headless body continue your sentence upon the
River Styx; you shall serve as the heraldry of all who wish to enter here. No
words will you utter, but all who come will use you to rap upon our door. This
shall be your disgrace from here on to whatever eternity the Horsemen desire.”
Death turned to Blacktide and Nyhtwulf. “You have witnessed this event and now
are bid leave this place. Your fate is elsewhere.”

Nyhtwulf
nodded and grabbed onto Blacktide who was too shocked to speak. With the power
of the Twilie Demon, the two friends left. When Death gives a command, it’s
best to ask nothing, merely comply.

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About Me

I am an advocate for autism now sharing my own fantasy universe to show just what people can do in spite of limitations (like my hands). I'm writing an ongoing story on my blogspot, have a facebook fanpage and more. I have one novel being considered by agents.

I want to network and learn with other artists and writers. I also just want to share.